The invention relates to a packaging for long-stemmed flowers having little or no leaf, in particular gerberas, anthuriums and arum lilies.
Inventors have turned their attention to the packaging of gerberas (so-called Cupping) in such a way that they are not damaged and do not wilt during transport. It is not uncommon to pack gerberas dry inside boxes. Wilting occurs relatively rapidly. It is also known to pack gerberas in a film sleeve and to place a number of flowers packed in this way in a bucket partially filled with water. The sleeve prevents damage to the flower heads. This method is labour intensive, whilst it takes a considerable time for the petals to return to an approximately horizontal position.
A packaging box for flowers with which the flowers are inserted through holes in the interior and the stems are guided into the horizontal position over the base is described in Netherlands Patent Application 7016433 and Netherlands Patent 189398. The boxes are completely closed, so that no ventilation takes place, as a result of which the formation of mould occurs relatively frequently.
The design filed under no. DM/017718 shows a flower packaging consisting of four conical vases which are to be filled with water and which are joined to one another by a common plate at their tops. To stabilise the flowers, an inlay is placed on the vases and the whole is placed in a cardboard box. The degree of loading leaves something to be desired and the flowers are not ventilated.
Another disadvantage is that the undersides of the vases are able to move relative to one another. If the base of one vase bends towards the other vases, the packaging can tip over. If the flower packaging according to DM/017718 is placed in a cardboard box, the box, which is necessarily moisture-absorbent, will have absorbed so much moisture that it becomes limp. There is no ventilation.
The transporting of gerberas in the vertical position in a container consisting of two vases with holes through which the stems of the flowers protrude is described in xe2x80x9cFlower Trade Journalxe2x80x9d, Apr. 1996. With this arrangement the flowers are inadequately protected during transport and the degree of loading is poor.
The aim of the invention is to avoid the disadvantages of known packaging while maintaining the advantages thereof. In particular, an aim of the invention is to provide a stackable packaging suitable for gerberas and the like with which the stems can stand in water, the flowers are optimally protected, the degree of loading is high, the components of the packaging can be returned to the sender taking up as little room as possible and the flowers can be well presented at auction or in the shop.
According to the invention, to this end the packaging comprises:
at least one or more vases made of flexible or rigid material which are positioned by means of auxiliary means,
one or more display tubes with rows of openings which allow the stems of the packed flowers to pass through, but not the flowers themselves,
means for positioning the display tubes above the vases in such a way that the flower stems inserted through the openings in the display tubes extend into the vases,
a tubular protective collar and means for positioning the protective collar around the display tubes.
In a first embodiment the vases together form a watertight nestable container with a peripheral channel projecting outwards, for accommodating the bottom edge of the protective collar, extending around the uppermost part thereof
In a second embodiment the vases extend through openings in a tray which is fixed to a peripheral edge of a nestable container, which container surrounds the vases and is intended to position the vases and, if the vases are made of flexible material, to support them.
The means for positioning the display tubes can consist of projections, located on the top surface of the tray, in which cuts have been made to accommodate flanges of the display tubes, which flanges project outwards.
The means for positioning the display tubes can also consist of supporting ribs projecting from the top surface of the tray.
The vases can be detachably fixed to parts of the tray by means of elastic bands. Another possibility is that the vases are fixed, at the tops thereof, by rigid rings, or to projections on said rings, which have been arranged on the tray.
The lid will preferably have been provided with ventilation openings and with a number of ridges projecting upwards, within which a container of a subsequent flower packaging, stacked on top, fits.
Preferably, in the effective folded position, each display tube consists of a rectangular tube and projecting ribs at each of the confers of said tube.
The bottom edges of the projecting ribs of this display tube can have been chamfered from a horizontal outermost part, the uppermost part of the container having, successively, working from said peripheral channel, a horizontal part directed inwards and a sloping part.
The openings in the display tubes consist of two circular cut-outs which intersect one another and have a different diameter, the circular cut-out of smaller diameter opening into the bottom part of the circular cut-out of larger diameter.
The invention also relates to a display tube intended for the packaging according to the invention.